Get ready because I'm about to tell you the #1 way to save money for your company in 2009!

If you are like most companies you buy an allotment of promotional items for your company throughout the year - pens, catalogs, mugs, calendars, mouse pads, rulers, etc. Whatever the product maybe, something that carries your company name, logo, maybe a slogan or web address. Pretty common stuff, right?

You're probably thinking, this is great. He is about to tell us how we can get these products through some black market trader in China and save 50%. I wished I could.

Actually, it's something that is really easy and simple to do. The savings you gain from what I'm about to tell you will be significant. Are you ready? Okay here it is...

PLAN AHEAD!!!

That's right. The #1 one way companies throw away money on promotional products is expedited shipping. The majority and I do mean majority of companies that we deal with on a yearly basis have some sort of tight deadline associated with their orders. What that means is that there is going to be rushed production which opens up the door for potential problems and then there's the dreaded and costly Overnight, 2nd Day, Saturday delivery, etc shipping methods that eats up thousands of dollars in profits for your company every year.

As a matter of fact. As I was writing this article, I received a phone call from a client (who shall remain nameless) who ran out of catalogs and needs to get some more printed and delivered ASAP. What that means is we will have to rush the production and expedite the shipping....and catalogs are not lightweight. This client could have potentially saved a lot of money if they would've planned ahead and ordered well in advance.

Here's another horror story that we see far too often. We had a client that wanted to produce some nerf like footballs for a tradeshow. Great idea....something for prospects and clients to hold, grab, throw around and play with. The order ended up costing the client $2,000. However, we had to end up shipping them for Saturday delivery to their tradeshow to get them there in time. The shipping for dozens of boxes of footballs for next day Saturday delivery came to $6,000! Holy cow! That's right, they ended up pay 3 times the amount of the order in shipping charges alone.

Just this weekend I was at church and they were giving out stickers for a promotion. I went to the back to grab a couple of more for my daughter. I looked the box to see if I recognized the manufacturer that these came from. What I did notice on the box was the UPS label that said "Next Day Air". This happens all the time.

Here's a couple of things to keep in mind for your planning and newly found knowledge of saving your company the unnecessary shipping costs.

1. Manufacturers of promotional products have a production time anywhere from 5 business days all the way up to 20 business days. That's not counting the proofing process which can take up to another 5 business days depending on the number of revisions.

2. Manufacturers of promotional products are all over the U.S. and world. Unless you are extremely lucky the manufacturer will not be in your city so the shipping time will be added onto this. Worst case scenario would be coast to coast which is approximately 5 business days.

Keeping these factors in mind and planning well in advance can help you save money in the long run and avoid undue stress on yourself and your company.